


Cliffhanger

by thealeksdemon



Category: Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Human AU, Library AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 21:05:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5263565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealeksdemon/pseuds/thealeksdemon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marianne had been buried in books since the break-up with Roland . . . And Dawn thought it was about time she got out of the house. Under the request to acquire Marianne's help for a school project, Dawn dragged her to the library. Dawn didn't expect for Marianne to get into an argument, and with the librarian no less.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cliffhanger

**Author's Note:**

> Fic to go with a drawing I made for the library AU a while back! Drawing can be found here: http://thealeksdemon.tumblr.com/post/132718803605/as-planned-a-substitute-librarian-bog-and-an

Dawn just needed assistance in researching something for a project at school. Having put off working on it for weeks—on what, she will not confess—she enlisted her sister’s help. Marianne’s reluctance was definitely understandable, but Dawn thought it was time Marianne got out of the house. Holing herself up after whatever happened with her ex, Roland, her lingering presence at home seemed almost like it was going to take root there forever.

It got to the point Dad was almost begging her to leave, even for five minutes.

Plus, Dawn was tired of Marianne asking her to take books home for her.

“Come on,” Dawn tugged her sister along, skipping slightly. Although, Marianne’s tense posture was making it hard for her bounciness to thrive. “It won’t be that bad. The library’s quiet. It’s almost desolate. All the books you want to read are there, and you can even carry them home yourself!”

Marianne grumbled, shoving her hands into her sleeves, before burying them in her pockets. “I thought I was helping you research something.”

Dawn rolled her eyes, “You are! Sunny could’ve helped me, too, but I was getting worried about you. Come on, I swear you’ll like it. Plus, if anything’s good about the library, I know Roland never goes there. The only things he reads are articles about his own success.”

Marianne’s snorted in surprise. She bumped Dawn affectionately with her shoulder and thanked her under her breath. “Maybe I do need this,” she admitted.

Dawn smiled brightly, feeling a bubble of giggles burst from her lips. “Anytime, sis.”

After the legendary break-up, Marianne buried herself in books and in working out. Anything she could’ve done in the comfort of their home really. Dawn knew that her sister wasn’t exactly the social butterfly, but there were times they’d go on movie nights, just the two of them. Sometimes even Sunny tagged along. Sometimes they’d just go out for dinner and talk about everything from life at home, to life at school.

Roland was handsome and charismatic, sure, with every visible quality that a girl would’ve wanted. But when he was dating Marianne… She seemed different, a little bit off. Then after Roland, Marianne closed herself off almost completely. Of course, Marianne was still Dawn’s protective, hovering, concerned sister—but something had changed.

Marianne always loved books. Always. But with the way she was shutting everyone out … Probably _not_ a good thing.

In the effort to get Marianne to recover, Dawn took the first step and dragged her sister to the library.

Marianne had never seen it before, not from the inside at least. When they pushed the doors open with the soft jingle of the bell hanging over them, Dawn watched Marianne’s eyes fill with amazement. Dawn tried hard not to grin, relief washing over her as she watched her sister walk in with a dazed expression.

She was happy she made the choice to bring her here.

The first two hours went well. Dawn researched in silence, multicoloured pens sticking out from over her ears. Marianne had almost ravaged the place, piling up book after book at the table they designated as their own, her eyes filling with light as she read summary after summary.

Dawn was distracted for the moment, so when she suddenly heard sharp voices cutting through the air, she was stunned to see at the other side of the library Marianne glaring at a tall man. Seconds stretched as they stared at each other, before the lanky guy broke away first, muttering under his breath as he walked away. Dawn blinked, confused, as she watched Marianne almost stomp her way back to their table. Her eyes were flashing as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the guy’s direction, snapping as quietly as she could’ve:

“Who was that guy?”

Dawn blinked again, sitting up. “What happened?” She asked, avoiding the question.

“I was looking at a book,” Marianne ground out, “and I heard someone snort—like laugh—and I turn around to see this guy shaking his head in amusement. I ask him what’s funny, and then he says nothing. As if I didn’t _hear_ him—”

“—Marianne,” Dawn interrupted, placing her hands on Marianne’s flailing arms to calm her down as she tried not to burst out laughing. “That was the _librarian_.”

Of course, leave it to her sister to start a fight with the one person who would be signing out her books for her. Too bad for her, their library hadn’t exactly gotten the self check-out kiosks yet.

Dawn watched her sister’s face blanch.

“What? But—” Marianne stammered.

“—He’s so young?” Dawn tried not to smile as she rested her chin in her palm. “Everyone says the same thing. He started working here a couple months ago.”

Marianne slumped in her chair, stunned and sputtering. “Oh my God. I just argued with the _librarian_. It’s going to be so awkward when I sign these out,” she stroked the spine of the topmost book on her pile. Biting her lip, she turned her gaze back to Dawn. “Can you—”

“—No.” Dawn suppressed a yawn, but allowed a smirk. “You haven’t even helped me yet, I’m not going to sign the books out for you.”

Marianne glanced over her shoulder. “When does he get off work? Does someone replace him?”

“He works until the library closes.”

“Oh my God.”

Dawn tried really hard to suppress a laugh, but wound up giggling anyway. The next hour was filled with Marianne mumbling to herself as she found important excerpts for Dawn’s project, while Dawn worked on the project itself. She could tell that Marianne was dreading having to talk to the librarian again, even though their interaction earlier couldn’t have been _that_ bad. Marianne’s spark had just snapped at the librarian without thought, and now she was paying the price.

When it was about time they had to leave for dinner, there was a knot between Marianne’s brows so tightly wound, that Dawn was sure it’d be fixed like that forever.

“Come on,” Dawn said, suppressing a smile, gathering her own books under her arm. “We can’t delay this fated encounter forever.”

Her sister groaned. “If I knew I was going to have to see his face so soon I wouldn’t have called him a personified insect.”

Dawn’s eyes widened. “You called him a _what?_ ”

“Okay, here’s the thing,” she sighed. “I—”

“—you know what,” Dawn interrupted, raising her hand. “Don’t explain.”

Marianne laughed at her sister’s pinched expression, but her smile fell away as they approached the check-out desk. It turned into a scowl, embedding deeper into her face as she hovered behind Dawn like an ill-willed shadow.

Dawn tried not to snicker, carrying a textbook she needed under her arm. Dropping it in front of the lanky guy behind the desk, she allowed him her sunniest smile.

“Good evening, Brodric!”

The man looked over his glasses almost incredulously. Pale scars cross-crossed over his sharp cheekbones and across his pointed chin. His large, aquiline nose propped between his striking blue eyes a pair of metal glasses that almost sat askew as he pulled himself away from the book in his hands. Ebony hair combed away from his face, but loose, wild strands fell away almost rebelliously to betray his weariness. Even the stubble on his chin revealed that he had—for the past few days perhaps—some dreary nights.

Brodric Murray’s long, elegant fingers languidly placed the small, leather-bound book face down in front of him as he regarded Dawn and her sister with a scrutinizing eye. A single brow climbed upwards.

As a side note, Dawn recalled briefly crushing on him before. He was a mysterious guy, for sure—and exceptionally tall—but her attraction to him stopped there. He wasn’t really her type, and in ceasing her pursuit the both of them were extremely relieved.

“Good evenin’, Dawn.” Brodric drawled, reaching forwards and lifting the large textbook with a single hand, turning it over effortlessly as he scanned the code almost sleepily. “Will this be all?”

Dawn tilted her head and grinned. “Oh, nope.” She stepped aside to reveal her sister, whose eyes could not narrow any further.

Dawn watched as Bog’s second eyebrow joined the other in momentary ascension. “Hello,” he said.

“Hi,” Marianne forced out through gritted teeth. Silently—and begrudgingly—she lifted the books she picked out and placed them in front of him. A stack of mayhaps fourteen novels swayed before him, and Brodric stuck a hand out to steady them. His eyes were a little wide.

He grabbed the topmost one. “Quite a selection you have here,” he said under his breath, almost as a side note. Regardless, Marianne still heard him.

“What?” She peered down at him, brown eyes glowering. “You have a comment you want to share? I’m all ears.”

Brodric looked up at her, barely alarmed. He seemed to think to himself, lips pursing slightly. Then, “What kind of books do you like?”

Marianne squinted at him, testing. “Adventure, mostly. Historical fiction. Fantasy and sci-fi, for sure.”

He allowed a small, crooked smile. “Do you like romances?”

“Hate ‘em.”

Brodric waved the book in his hand about, tapping the cover with one finger. “You won’t like this one.”

“Why?” Marianne almost snapped.

“Love square. Main character is courted by three guys, and the plot doesn’t move along very well. She neglects her quest in the end for marriage.”

“Oh,” her expression twisted in disapproval. “The summary doesn’t even _mention_ love.”

Brodric laughed. “That’s how they fool you.”

Marianne grabbed another book from her set and passed it to him, asking, “How ‘bout this one?”

Dawn watched, amazed, as her sister and the librarian got into a fast-paced conversation about the books Marianne had chosen. Brodric whittled down the pile by half, and had added another nine. Luckily the library was nearly deserted, for certainly he would’ve gotten in trouble for being distracted, not attending to the other people in need to borrow books. Luckily for him, there was no line-up, and no one else but Marianne and Dawn standing at his desk. The books piled and piled, and although the conversation could not have lasted for more than ten minutes, the two of them were laughing quietly to themselves, talking about a series they had both indulged in when they were younger.

Dawn did not feel compelled to interrupt, but her phone buzzed, which sounded like an alarm in the silence of the library. Marianne and Brodric, both surprised, turned to her. At their attention, she flushed, a little bewildered at how intense their stares were as she checked her phone.

It was Dad.

_Where are you two?_

She bit her lip. Apologetic, she looked up at the Brodric and Marianne, feeling as if she was about to tell them the worst news they were ever going to hear.

“Dad wants us home.”

Marianne’s expression fell a little. “Oh.”

Brodric inhaled, as if coming back to reality after having been submerged for hours. He looked down for a second and realized Marianne’s books were scattered about his desk in categories of what to take, and what to leave. Swallowing almost nervously, realizing he had been severely preoccupied, he started scanning away.

“Sorry,” he chuckled, pushing up his glasses. “Got a little ahead of ourselves, didn’t we?”

Marianne blinked, cheeks reddening a little as she pushed her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I guess.”

When Marianne reached for the books, she paused, brows furrowing as she regarded the looming stack of pages and bindings.

“Oh!” Brodric stood hastily to his feet, fumbling about himself hurriedly. “Need a bag?”

Then Marianne laughed. “Am I shopping here?”

Suddenly as red as a tomato, Brodric stilled and rubbed the back of his neck as he allowed a sheepish smile. “Sorry. But I do have bags ‘ere, in case y’know, I get the enthusiastic reader.”

“Hmm,” Marianne grinned. “Sure, I’ll take a bag.”

So Brodric reached underneath his desk and grabbed a large reusable shopping bog. Then he helped Marianne shove her books inside before—unexpectedly—circling his desk and carrying the bag for her to the door of the library. They continued to chatter as Dawn followed mischievously behind.

“Thanks for all the recommendations,” Marianne said. “I didn’t expect you to have a similar taste in books.”

He smirked. “Not bad for a personified insect, yeah?”

Marianne reddened, before elbowing him. “Sorry about that. I thought you were making fun of me for what I was reading.”

“No, not at all,” he reassured. “Everyone’s got their poison. I just thought yer expression was a little amusin’. It looked like you were tryin’ to burn a hole through the paper.”

As they reached the door, Marianne paused. She turned to the librarian with a quizzical eye and curious smile.

“I forgot to ask for your name,” she admitted quietly.

He chuckled, smiling crookedly. “My name’s Brodric Murray. But you can call me Bog.”

“Bog? Sure.” Marianne laughed. “I’m Marianne Fay.”

“It was nice meeting you, Miss Marianne Fay,” he said, before handing her the bag of books. Dawn counted the seconds, and she swore their hands lingered beside each other a moment longer than expected for fresh strangers. “Hope to see you again.”

Marianne smiled, brightening at the notion. “Yeah. _Yeah_. I guess I’ll see you again.”

"It was nice seeing you too, Dawn," he waved at her politely, looking at her as if he had forgotten she was there.

Dawn tried hard not to grin like an idiot as she dragged her sister away from the library, humming to herself as she kept her commentary private.

“You better finish those books,” Dawn cooed aloud.

Marianne scoffed, “I barely even started them. Don’t rush me.”

“Well,” Dawn tried to keep her giddiness out of her tone, but it was nearly impossible. “I suggest every time you finish one, you return it immediately after.”

“Like one at a time? Wouldn’t it be easier to just return them all at once?”

“But then” Dawn started, releasing her sister so she could get a head start, “You wouldn’t have an excuse to see Bog more than once, now would you?”

Her sister gasped. “ _Dawn!_ ”

Turns out, Dawn didn’t need to get a head start. The weight of the books Marianne was carrying was enough to hold her down, and she wasn’t exactly going to put the books down to chase Dawn either.

Of course she wouldn't've. Those books were Marianne’s ticket to see Bog, unless she didn’t mind just talking to him without the books in hand.

Dawn knew it'd take a while for  _that_ to happen.

But she'd wait. It had been a long time since she'd seen her sister smile like that.


End file.
